The MoFo Top 100 of the 1970s: Countdown

I like charts.

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

Yeah, charts are fun. And they're particularly fun when you've got 7 years worth of data to play with, and when they show a lot of nice, pretty slopes on the right.

I have numbers on posts, but I might have to throw together a quick script to convert those into charts. Those ones might look particularly striking, because posts are way up (and no, it's not just the commentary threads).

But they have a huge post count impact, correct?

Yoda, can we have negative rep back?

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I know, eh?

I guess it depends on what scale you use, but I count six sizable commentary threads, and even if you removed all of them from this year's post count we'd still be on pace to shatter last year's record.

That's pretty much the situation in a nutshell, I guess: we're breaking records either way, and commentary threads are just running that high score up a bit higher.

Anyway, while I don't regard those posts as the highest in quality, I do think it's something to be proud of that people like being on the site enough to spend hours watching movies with others on it.

Lots of movies, too. I think I've probably done almost 100 in a year and other people have done them without me. Honeykid and I have even watched an entire season and a half of Sex and the City together.

I'm getting a little tired of them now, to be honest. They're starting to feel a little dumb. Maybe because I've just done too many of them. But... I mean, if you're alone, and you wanna watch a movie with somebody and nobody's around, it's sort of like being around someone else and watching one. And you don't have to get dressed up and look pretty (although I have been known to change clothes for a commentary, to be totally honest, and not just to dress down) for someone.

Whew, I was really getting worried that Jaws was going to take it, but in the end the Mofos got it right. The Godfather was my #1 and with all due respect to Citizen Kane IMO is the greatest movie ever made. Jaws (15 on my list) is a great film in its own right, a genre changing masterpiece, but The Godfather is perfection.

Great list everybody!

Seanc, Slap Shot was on my list unless my memory fails me. And it might, as I can't remember the exact order of my top 25. Anyway, I'm almost positive it's there, as it's practically near the top of my favorite comedies of all-time list. Have seen it at least a dozen times and it still cracks me up.

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"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley."

You should be proud; it's a great compliment.

Thanks, Camo, for the Brando clip.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest #17

Brilliant performance from Jack Nicholson with a dead-eyed villain that people love to hate. I'm a little disappointed I saw that simpsons episode that was a parody of this first because I knew what was coming, but that did not impact the emotional depths it reached. A fun filled depressingly real film that seems to get better with every viewing.

A clockwork Orange #1

Wow, what a film. It took me on a roller coaster of emotions. Kubrick's bizarre vision of some retro-future is a joy to look at. The polarizing subject matter, the stunning opening shot, the use of classical music. This is my all-time favourite Kubrick film because it made me feel something that I simply could not describe. I remember my jaw being on the floor when Alex starts to sing "singing in the rain" the second time in the bathtub. I remember hating his droogs as cops beating the crap out of him. I remember wanting to learn more about film and the technique of filmmaking because of this film and my future Kubrick viewing habits. Not only is this the best film of that decade, but it is one of the best films of all-time.

Chinatown #4

THE Noir Film? Most likely and one of the best written films of all-time. Another Nicholson film making my list with one hell of an ending. You'll want to watch this one again, immediately after viewing it for the first time. Polanski puts himself in the film as the character who cuts Jake's nose and tells him not to stick his nose where it doesn't belong. That's him as a director, show his power over everything. Writing about it right now makes me want to go back and re-visit it again. Maybe introduce the fiancee to it for the first time because I KNOW she hasn't seen it.

ALIEN #2

I remember when I first watched this. My dad told me that Alien could be my next RESTRICTED movie that I got to watch. Terminator and Stand By Me were my first two. So I was at my uncles for a christmas get together, I took his VHS copy, threw it in the VCR, jumped onto his bed and watched it alone while the adults chatted each other up. I was awe-struck. The horror, the tension, the excitement. I loved it all. Weaver in her underwear in the last set piece of the film, wow. Looking back now, not so much, but when I was a kid that was a huge turn on for me. Gross?

Star Wars

Where to place the most influential film of all-time? The money making machine. The standard sci/fi adventure flick. The STAR WARS. Well, at #16 of course. While not my favourite in the series, I prefer the unloved Jedi myself, Star Wars deserves a place in the top ten simply because of what it did to the art form. It changed the way films were made, marketed, consumed. It is, in my opinion, the most popular film of ALL-TIME. Even if you've never seen Star Wars, you know what it is.

Taxi Driver #3

Loneliness has followed me my whole life, everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape. I'm God's lonely man.

If it weren't for Goodfellas, this would be my go-to Scorsese film. What a dark, lonely and beautiful film. I love the way Scorsese captures New York in Taxi Driver, it almost feels like a character itself. The coldness of everything, the dirtiness, the wanting and sex and need of approval. Bickle is the human representation of New York. It's easy to use words like brilliant, powerful and classic for this flick and this film damn well deserves everyone of them.

Jaws #6

I took the fiancee to see Jaws for the first time this past year. Her first time seeing it period, my first time seeing it at the theatre. I don't know what to say about this film that hasn't already been said. People were afraid to go in the freakin' water after this movie came out. It MADE summer blockbusters what they are.

The Godfather #14

The greatest film of all time? Maybe. I watched this at my friend's house and remember feeling utterly devastated by the end of it. It's taught in film classes for a reason. There is so much going on in every shot. Every shot has a purpose. The Godfather is THE film.

My LIST:

1. A Clockwork Orange
2. Alien
3. Taxi Driver
4. Chinatown
5. Kramer vs Kramer
6. Jaws
7. Halloween
8. Rocky Horror Picture Show
9. Monty Python & The Holy Grail
10. Papillon
11. Black Christmas
12. Dawn of the Dead
13. Murder by Death
14. The Godfather
15. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
16. Star Wars
17. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
18. Apocalypse Now
19. Young Frankenstein
20. Rocky
21. Blazing Saddles
22. Dog Day Afternoon
23. The Exorcist
24. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
25. The Rescuers

Sad...utterly sad...that not only did Papillon not make the top 100, it didn't even get a freakin' honourable mention. What the hell is wrong with you people? Out of my list, other than Murder by Death which was an outed early on. I knew The Rescuers wasn't going to make it, but I could have sworn Papillon would have been a guarantee.

Black Christmas made an honourable mention, which I'm glad to see.

Good job everyone and Holden......

My list:

1. Che? (1972)
2. The Conformist (1970) #71
3. Taxi Driver (1976) #3
4. Chinatown (1974) #6
5. Wake in Fright (1971) #109
6. The Godfather (1972) #1
7. The Godfather: Part II (1974) #10
8. Walkabout (1971) #67
9. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) #8
10. Solaris (1972) #39.
11. The Deer Hunter (1978) #38
12. Straight Time (1978)
13. Eraserhead (1977) #26
14. Jaws (1975) #2
15. Deliverance (1972) #51
16. The Exorcist (1973) #12
17.Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) #14
18. Halloween (1978) #17
19. The Last Detail (1973) #129
20. Sorcerer (1977) #108
21. The Conversation (1974) #18
22. Wise Blood (1979)
23. Payday (1973)
24. Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976)
25. La grande bouffe (1973) (1 point, not on the countdown)

Great journey through the 70's

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A normal man? For me, a normal man is one who turns his head to see a beautiful woman's bottom. The point is not just to turn your head. There are five or six reasons. And he is glad to find people who are like him, his equals. That's why he likes crowded beaches, football, the bar downtown...

My List

1. Jaws
2. Star Wars: A New Hope
3. King Kong
4. Superman
5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
6. The Taking of Pelham 123
7. The Exorcist
8. Alien
9. Duel
10. The Night Stalker
11. The Day of the Jackal
12. Monty Python's Life of Brian
13. Charley Varrick
14. Assault on Precinct 13
15. Kelly's Heroes
16. High Plain's Drifter
17. Tora, Tora, Tora
18. The Gauntlet
19. Breaking Away
20. Dirty Harry
21. Frenzy
22. Sunday Too Far Away
23. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
24. Colossus: The Forbin Project
25. Smokey and the Bandit

Not surprised that a lot of mine didn't make it.

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“The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.”
― Neil deGrasse Tyson

Way to miss a day, T. I'll catch up later.

In the meantime, here's my list in its entirety:

1. The Godfather Pt 2 (#10)
2. The Godfather (#1)
3. The Long Goodbye (#19)
4. Chinatown (#6)
5. All The President's Men (#75)
6. The French Connection (#31)
7. Monty Python & The Holy Grail (#13)
8. Silent Running
9. The Conversation (#18)
10. Don't Look Now (#72)
11. Apocalypse Now (#9)
12. Bring me The Head of Alfredo Garcia (#94)
13. Aguirre: The Wrath Of God (#21)
14. Get Carter
15. Cross of Iron
16. Alien (#5)
17. The Wicker Man (#79)
18. The Outlaw Josey Wales (#49)
19. Annie Hall (#30)
20. Taxi Driver (#3)
21. Nashville (#43)
22. The Tenant (#88)
23. The Parallax View
24. Escape From Alcatraz
25. Serpico (#55)

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

That's exactly what I was thinking. I'm still playing catch-up on some of the threads that I missed yesterday, and the Top 2 of this 70s Countdown and the start of the Country Music Tournament didn't help me catch-up any faster. (But at least all the time I've spent trying to catch up was time well spent. )

I knew that The Godfather was going to be the #1 movie, even before I submitted my list. It just seemed inevitable. It's a good movie, but not among my favorites. It didn't make my list. I really wish that I had been proven wrong on this one. I would have liked to see Spielberg get the recognition that he deserved. Any movie that can keep people out of the water for almost 40 years deserves to be #1, not just #2.

Here's my complete list. I had 12 movies that didn't show up anywhere in the countdown, not even up through #130. Did anyone else miss that many movies from their list? Was I the only one who voted for some of my movies that missed the countdown completely?

1) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (#14)
2) Superman the Movie (#23)
3) Star Wars (#4)
4) Jaws (#2)
5) The Champ (1979)
6) 1776 (1972)
7) Bang the Drum Slowly (1973)
8) Three Days of the Condor (1975)
9) Time After Time (1979)
10) The Hot Rock (1972)
11) The Electric Horseman (1979)
12) The Frisco Kid (1979)
13) The Sting (#57)
14) Kramer vs. Kramer (#44)
15) Hot Stuff (1979)
16) The French Connection (#31)
17) The Seven-Ups (1973)
18) Sleuth (#91)
19) Duel (#104)
20) Murder by Death (#101)
21) The Muppet Movie (#69)
22) The End (1978)
23) Smokey and the Bandit (#124)
24) Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (#47)
25) Love at First Bite (My One Pointer)

Was I the only one who voted for some of my movies that missed the countdown completely?

I think he tried to ask if he was the only one voting for certain films on his list (that didn't make the overall top 100).

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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019

Oh, i see thanks for clearing that up. Out of the ones that didn't make your list gbg, the only ones i've even heard of are The Seven Ups and The Champ.

#143 The Champ (38 points, two votes)
#157 Time After Time (34 points, two votes)
#178 Three Days of the Condor (28 points, five votes)
#222 1776 (20 points, just you)
#231 Bang the Drum Slowly (19 points, just you)
#263 The Hot Rock (16 points, just you)
#272 The Electric Horseman (15 points, just you)
#281 The Frisco Kid (14 points, just you)
#306 Hot Stuff (11 points, just you)
#312 The Seven-Ups (11 points, two votes)
#373 The End (4 points, just you)

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Had I any Uniques, Holds? Sounds like a trading card game now.

I can't have been the only person to vote for The Parallax View or Cross of Iron, Shirley? I'll take Silent Running on the chin...